From ICE-V to PHEV
A French company will offer conversion kits next year with which old diesels can be converted into plug-in hybrids. Not every old diesel car can be converted into a plug-in, but the auto-igniters suitable for the conversion have been supplied in many models.
In France, it should be possible from next year to convert cars with a 1.4 or 1.6 HDi diesel engine (from Peugeot/Citroën) or with a 1.5 dCi diesel engine from Renault into plug-in hybrids. GCK ensures this by marketing the conversion kit called ‘Twin-E’. Including assembly, it is said to cost around €7,500, the French writes Caradisiac. An advantage of the kit: the conversion does not require any specialist knowledge and should also be able to be carried out within a day by non-brand-specific garages.
During the conversion, the gearbox is replaced by an automatic one with a 54-hp electric motor. It draws its energy from a 9 kWh battery pack that is placed in the trunk or – on some models – in the spare wheel well. This means that a car should be able to drive about 70 km purely electrically after the conversion, although larger models will not get as far as smaller ones. The battery can be charged with a maximum of 3 kW, which should allow from empty to full in 3 hours. The battery also charges while coasting.
Electric driving in environmental zones
The car’s ECU also undergoes an adjustment during the conversion and allows the driver to put the car in three different driving modes. The first of these is a purely electric one and limits the car’s top speed to 70 km/h. This is not a coincidence: the system was mainly devised as a solution for the many French cars that will no longer be allowed to enter the many urban environmental zones in the country in a few years’ time. Many diesels, but also petrol cars – and not even very old ones – are already banned from the cities, where plug-in hybrids are still welcome for the time being.
A (new) plug-in hybrid or fully electric car is still out of reach for many, so a much cheaper conversion should offer a solution for a faster success of electrification among the larger population. The French government is aware of CGK’s product and ensures that it is also recognized and possible ‘in the papers’. In fact, it would offer compensation for those considering the conversion, making it cheaper in practice than the assumed €7,500.
Again according to Caradisiac several million cars are driving around in France with the engines mentioned, which means that the potential market for the conversion kit is considerable. Some examples of models in which those engines were delivered are the Peugeot 207, Renault Twingo and Dacia Sandero. Later, there should also be conversions that are suitable for other popular power sources, which may also become available in other (European) countries.
What do you think? Convert existing (diesel) cars into plug-in hybrids; a good idea, isn’t it?
This generation of Nissan Micra is also an example of a car in which the 1.5 dCi from Renault was delivered.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl